Teddy
by arashikageriverflower
Summary: Little Raph is scared of everything. This is how his brothers help him find his courage.
1. Chapter 1

"Daaad!" five-year-old Leo yelled, bounding into the dojo.

Splinter sighed. "Yes, my son?"

"We were playing hide and seek, and Donnie was seeking, and-"

"I didn't do it!" Donnie hurtled into Splinter's lap.

"You did, too!"

"Did not!"

"Did, too!"

"Uh-uh!"

"Uh-huh!"

"Uh-uh!"

"Donatello, Leonardo…"

"Uh-huh!"

"Uh-uh!"

"Enough!" Splinter snapped. "Leonardo, tell me what happened. No interruptions."

"Donnie scared Raph, and now he won't stop hiding," Leo said quickly.

Splinter groaned and mentally whacked his forehead. When the turtles had first mutated, he had sensed Raphael would be the most warrior-like; but at the moment, it looked like he was wrong. The child was afraid of his own shadow. "Come, Donatello, let's go make amends."

Donnie slipped one hand into his father's, the other clutched one of his myriad of stuffed animals. "I'm not gonna get pun-ish-ed?"

"Did you do it on purpose?"

Donnie shook his head vigorously.

"Then saying sorry is enough. Where's your brother hiding?"

Donnie led Splinter into Mikey's room. The orange-bandana-ed turtle sucked his thumb as he sat on top of his bed. "Waph ganna be 'kay?" he asked.

Splinter smiled. "Raphael will be just fine," he said loudly. "There's nothing scary in here. I chased all the scary stuff away."

"Daddy?" Raph whimpered from under the bed.

Splinter knelt down so he could see. "It's okay, my son," he said softly. "Everything is as it should be."

"Daddy!" Raph sobbed, scrambling into Splinter's arms. "It was so scary – And it had purple eyes – And it wanted to eat me!"

Splinter sighed. "Dona – Donatello?" he asked, turning around.

Donnie rushed back in, hands behind his back. "Raph? I want to meet you someone not scary."

"You want him to meet-"

Raph sniffed and rubbed his eyes. "Who's dat?" he asked, pointing.

"Ta-Da! It's Teddy!" Donnie announced, revealing a stuffed bear with a purple bandana around its neck. "Only bad guys are scared of Teddy! He makes them go away when he says 'RAR!'"

Raph wriggled out of Splinter's arms and hesitantly took Teddy. He stared at it for a moment, then hugged it tight.

Donnie patted his brother's head. "I'm sorry. Teddy can be your friend. You can keep him."

Splinter shook his head, smiling, as his sons walked away, Raphael holding Teddy tight. Michelangelo walked up behind his father.

"Can I have a Teddy?" he asked. He held up a stuffed snake. "Buddy doesn't say 'RAR'."


	2. Chapter 2

For the next few weeks, Raph took Teddy everywhere: he slept with it, he ate with it, he played with it, and he got into trouble with it.

"Raph!" Leo whispered, not-so-quietly.

Raph grabbed Teddy and walked out to the railing where his brothers waited. "Is it snow day?" he asked.

"Shh…" Leo hissed, but he nodded.

This particular venture was inspired by something Leo had seen in a book Splinter had read them – something called 'snow'. The book said it was a white, powdery thing, and Splinter had said it was fun to play in. The next day, Leo informed his brothers that he had seen Splinter put snow in their pancakes, and that soon they would have a snow day, like the children in the book.

Now, the four crept downstairs as quietly as possible. Soon enough, they reached the kitchen. "Donnie, help me," Leo whispered. Together, he and Donnie pushed a chair against the counter. He climbed up and promptly found a bag of flour. "Snow!" he hissed. He climbed down and opened the bag.

Mikey looked down and tasted the flour. "It's gwoss," he said, making a face.

"Silly! You don't eat it! You play with it. Like this." Leo grabbed two fistfuls of flour and threw them up in the air. "Snow!"

Raph giggled and joined in. "Snow!" he whisper-shouted. Then, louder, with more flour, "Snow!"

"Shh…" Donnie said.

Mikey grabbed the bag and upended it. "Snow!" he shouted, cackling.

"What are you doing?"

The brothers whirled around to see Splinter in the doorway.

"Snow?" Raph asked.

Splinter sighed and shook his head. "Line up."

Mikey ran to the front of the line, the others fell in slowly, Raph last.

"What you did was wrong, my sons. I love you, but you must learn."

Donnie raised a trembling hand. "Are we gonna get pun-ish-ed?"

"Yes." Splinter knelt next to Mikey. "Give me your hand." He smacked said hand, and Mikey burst into tears. Same with Donnie, and even Leo. Raph winced, but he didn't cry.

"Please don't pun-ish-ed Teddy," he begged, rubbing his hand as Splinter comforted his brothers. "You can pun-ish-ed me two times."

Splinter raised an eyebrow. "Was Teddy also naughty?"

Raph nodded guiltily and tenderly pulled Teddy out of the heap of flour on the floor.

Splinter gaped slightly at the now-white Teddy. He groaned inwardly. "I'm not going to punish Teddy, but he needs a B-A-T-H. A looong one."

"What's that?" Raph asked.

"Baff?" Donnie asked, sniffling.

Raph burst into tears. "No!" he howled. "No!" He continued to sob as Splinter took him upstairs to his room. "I wan' my Teddy!"

Splinter sighed and took the bear from him.

"I wan' my T-Teddy!"

O

**Please don't rant in your reviews about the turtle's punishment. Constructive critique, only, please.**


	3. Chapter 3

Leo sighed and looked around. Donnie and Mikey wouldn't play with him after their 'snow day', and Raph wouldn't come out of his room no matter what until Teddy was done with its bath. But he was so bored! Groaning dramatically, he trudged up to Raph's room and hopped on the bed. "Raph?"

Raph shrieked and buried himself under the covers.

"Raph, it's me, Leo!"

"Leo?" Raph peeked out, sniffling.

"Do you wanna play with me?"

Raph shook his head. "Not without Teddy. He scares the bad guys away when he says 'RAR'. What if there're bad guys?"

Leo rolled his eyes. "Then you just be like Teddy! You can say 'RAR', can't you? Come on, say it!"

"Rar?" Raph whimpered.

"No, not like that! Like Teddy! Rar!"

"RAR!" Raph roared.

"See! Let's play like we're Teddies! Rar! Rar!"

Raph giggled and jumped up and down on his bed. "RAR! RAR!"

O

"Daaaaddy!" Mikey sobbed as he ran into the dojo.

Splinter gathered his youngest in his arms. "What's wrong, my son?"

"Daddy!" Raph cried happily, jogging into the dojo. "I'm scary! See? RAR!"

Mikey shrieked and buried his face in Splinter's shoulder.

Splinter didn't know whether to groan or smile.

So here was that warrior spirit….

It was going to be a long next twenty years or so….


	4. Deleted Scene

**A/N: This is a scene that I was originally not going to include. My little brother insisted I did, though, so here you go:**

O

Fifteen-year-old Raph snatched Teddy from its hiding place and collapsed in his bed. "Hey, bud, you're gettin' old."

As usual, Teddy didn't answer.

Raph smiled fondly and stroked the bald patch between Teddy's ears and pushed the stuffing back in where its eye had come out. "Wall, that makes two of us. Termorrow's mah sixteenth birthday, can ya believe it? Ah've had ya fer almost eleven years. Ya've nevah let me down, an' yer a good lis'ner, too."

"Raph!" Leo shouted. "April's here!"

"Yah, Leo's a butt. Lis'n, ya gotta stay here. Ah jes' don't wan' the other guys ta find ya an' make fun o me."

"Raph!"

Raph tucked Teddy back into its hiding place. "But thanks fer givin' me mah courage."

"RAPHAEL!"

"I'M COMING!" Raph shook his head and barged out his door. "WHAT'S YER PROBLEM, LEO?"

As Raph disappeared, if you looked closely, you could see what looked like Teddy winking.


End file.
